Bottle breaker device



Jan. 2, 1940. c. F. PETERS BOTTLE BREAKER DEVICE Filed April 20, 1938INVENTOR aka/Zea I'Pe fen? Patented Jan. 2, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE Application April 20, 1938, Serial No. 203,018

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to a bottle breaking machine and itparticularly relates to a machine for breaking bottles which have beenused for spirituous or alcoholic liquors.

According to many local, State and Federal regulations and lawsaffecting the sale of spirituous or alcoholic liquors, it is necessaryto break bottles containing alcoholic beverages after consumption of thebeverage.

Breaking of the bottles by hand, however, either by striking them with ahammer or by throwing them against stones, often causes injury, becauseof flying pieces of glass. The broken glass is frequently scatteredaround so that it is liable to cause injury either to footwear or to thehands or body of the person using the particular locality.

Furthermore these methods of breaking bottles do not most satisfactorilybreak the bottles and usually there are large parts of the bottles leftwith ragged edges, which are difficult to dispose of.

It is therefore among the objects of the present invention to provide animproved apparatus and mechanism for breaking bottles which will rupturethe bottle in relatively small pieces, which will prevent scattering ofthe broken pieces and which will protect the hands and clothing of theperson whose duty it is to break the bottles.

Another object is to provide an inexpensive bottle breaking device forbreaking empty bottles which have contained spirituous liquors oralcoholic beverages which will be economical in operation, cost andspace consumption and which will enable breaking of the bottle andretention of the broken pieces without danger to the breaker of thebottle and without any possibility of scattering the broken pieces.

Other objects will be obvious or will appear during the course of thefollowing specification.

In accomplishing the above objects it has been found most satisfactoryto provide a breaking apparatus in association or in combination withthe lid of an ordinary ash can or trash can,

i which lid is provided with a closed pocket or elongated cylindricalreceptacle into which the bottle may be placed. This receptacle ispref-' erably opened or slotted in such a manner as to permit accessfrom the receptacle to the inside of the can and to permit the brokenpieces of glass to fall into the bottom of the can when the bottle hasbeen broken.

Pivotally mounted upon the cover is a hammer device which may beactuated from the exterior of the can to strike and rupture the bottle.

This hammer device may be pivotally mounted upon the lid and may have afoot pedal or treadle hanging down on the outside of the can. The pedalmay be provided with a guide, if desired, attached to the bottom of thecan.

The lid of the can is desirably so held onto the periphery of the canthat it will not be lifted and so that there will be breaking of thebottle by the upward stroke of the hammer.

Referring to the drawing which illustrates one of the many embodimentsof the present invention, but to which the present invention is by nomeans restricted, since many changes and a1- ternatives could be madeall within the scope of the present invention,

Fig. 1 is a top perspective view of the can with the bottle breakerattachment thereon,

Fig. 2 is a side sectional View upon an enlarged scale as compared toFig. 1 and upon the line 2--2 of Fig. 1 showing a bottle in position,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary transverse sectional View upon the line 3 -3 ofFig. 2.

Referring to Figs, 1 to 3, the can or main receiver A may be of standardconstruction and formed of galvanized iron or other sheet metal.

The cover B carries the bottle breaking mechanism. The cover B has abase ill and a depending side H which is beaded as indicated at l2. Ifdesired, the side of the lid may be provided with a recess l3 receivingthe bead M which will latch the cover B down in position.

Through the'base ll! of the cover projects the inclined cylindricalcontainer, supplemental receiver or pipe member l5 which extends asindicated at IE, to closely adjacent the side wall ll of the bottomcontainer A.

The cylinder i5 may be rigidly attached to the cover B as by welding,soldering or otherwise to the opening it through which it projects inthe base Ill.

The container l 5 is provided with a lid l9 having a handle or hand gripportion 20, a hinge 2| and a spring 2?. which tends to press the liddown against the upper end of the cylinder l5. The cylinder i5 isslotted, as indicated at 23, adjacent its open bottom It so as to permitaccess to the bottle 24 by the hammer device D, when positionedtherewithin.

Attached to the side ll of the cover are the angle members 25, therivets 26 serving to attach them to the side wall Ii. Between theforward ends of the angle members 25 is the pin 21 which fits throughthe sleeve 28 of the hammer device D. The sleeve 28 is provided with anarm 29 which extends outwardly and fits between the jaws 30 of theclevis member 3|.

The pivot pin 32 pivotally connects said arm 29 in position between thejaws 38 of said clevis 3!. The clevis 3! is located at the top of a bar33 which hangs down outside of the can and at its lower end it isprovided with a pedal 3! to permit actuation of the breaking device.

If desired, the angle members 36 may be attached to the lower portion 3?of the can A by the flange 38 and rivets 39. The outturned plate membersiii of the rod 33 may be caused to fit inside of said flanges 6i andthus guide the pedal 34 in its upward and downward movement.

The sleeve 28 is also provided with a downwardly depending arm 52normally held down in the position shown in Fig. 2 by the weight of thehammer 43 all forming part of the hammer device D.

In operation the cover it is moved to the dotted line position shown inFig. 2, the bottle 24' is placed into the container l and then a foot isapplied to the pedal 34 to cause the hammer 43 to move upwardly andstrike the bottle, rupturing the glass and causing said glass to fall infinely divided particles toward the bottom of the con tainer A.

It has been found that by striking the bottle in the position as shownin Fig. 2 that a most satisfactory shattering eiTect is obtained withthe bottle being broken into relatively small pieces, and it is foundalso that the device as shown will enable efiicient and assured breakingofthe bottles, now in general use regardless of size. This is true eventhough the bottles that may be placed in the container H aresubstantially smaller in diameter than the container i5.

It is thus obvious that the applicant has provided a simple inexpensivebottle breaking mechanism capable of being used widely to break bottlesin accordance with city, State or Federal regulations or laws and whichwill be most economical from the viewpoint of space consumption.

The lid B carries all of the mechanism and may be manufactured to fitupon ordinary cans now available and by replacement of the specialbreaking lid B with a standard lid, the can A may be carried away fordumping of the broken glass therein or without any danger to theoperator of the breaking device.

It is obvious that many changes, alterations and modifications might bemade in the specific structure shown and that the hammer might beactually pivoted upon the container i5 itself or the lid B might beotherwise constructed.

As indicated upon Figs. 1 and 2,, the cover may be provided with ahandle H attached at one side to the base iii of the cover B and at theother side to the cylinder 85.

Although many difierent'sizes and diameters may be utilized, it has been.found convenient to.

utilize in one embodiment a can about 16 inches in height and about 14inches in diameter with a cover about 5 inches in height.

It is apparent that the can A, as shown, may also be square or hexagonaland, if desired, in stead of forming a separate receptacle, the sidewall of the can may constitute part of a chute into the cellar or intosome other place of disposal receiving the broken pieces of the bottle.The striking of the side of the bottle while loosely placed in thebottom of the pipe element or auxiliary container it at a pointsubstantially removed from the bottom of the neck results in ashattering of the bottle and it is only when the bottle is so shatteredthat it will fall out of the bottom of the secondary receptacle l5.

It is apparent that the device, as shown, may also be used for breakingor fragmenting other glassware than bottles and that other changes maybe made in the exact proportionment and position of the parts withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention.

The invention, however, is not intended to be restricted to anyparticular construction or arrangement of bottle breaker device, or toany particular application of any such construction,

or to any specific method .of operation, or manner of use, or to any ofvarious details, thereof, herein shown and described, as the same may bemodified in various particulars or be applied in many varied relationswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention,the practical embodiments herein illustrated and described merelyshowing some of the various features entering into the application ofthe invenion.

What-is claimed is:

l. A bottle breaker comprising a main receiver to receive broken glass,a cover for said main receiver carrying an obliquely positionedsupplemental receiver to receive the bottle to be broken saidsupplemental receiver having an open lower end adjacent the side of themain receiver, the bottle to be broken when placed in said supplementalreceiver being stopped against the side of the main receiver and thusheld in position in' said supplemental receiver, said supplementalreceiver extending obliquely downwardly through said cover toward, butstopping short of the interior side of the main receiver, and means tobreak said bottle when placed in said supplemen ta], receiver, saidmeans including a hammer pivotally mounted on the opposite interior ofsaid receiver from said interior side against which said bottle isstopped and lever means to actuate said hammer to break said bottle insaid supplemental receiver.

2. A bottle breaker comprising a main receiver to receive broken glass,a, supplemental receiver to receive the bottle to be broken saidsupplemental receiver having an open lower end adjacent the side of themain receiver, the bottle to be broken when placed in said supplementalreceiver being stopped against the side of the main receiver and thusheld in position in said supplemental receiver, said supplementalreceiver extending obliquely downwardly through said cover toward, butstopping short of the interior side of the main receiver, and means tobreak said bottle when placed in said supplemental receiver, bothreceivers having covers and the second receiver being carried by thecover of the first receiver, said means including a hammer pivotallymounted'on the opposite interior of said receiver from said interiorside against which said bottle is stopped and lever means to actuatesaid hammer to break said bottle in said supplemental receiver.

3. A bottle breaker comprising a cylindrical can, a cover therefor, acylindrical container extending obliquely downwardly through the cover,said cylindrical container having an open lower end adjacent the side ofthe cylindrical can, the bottle being held in said cylndrical containerby contact with the wall of the can a cover for said container and ahammer device to break a bottle when placed in said container, saiddevice being pivotally mounted on said cover with a hammer elementextending downwardly inside the can and end of said cylindricalcontainer terminating sufiiciently short of the side of the cylindricalcan opposite said hammer to expose a suflicient area of the bottle to bestruck by said hammer and to be broken.

4. A bottle breaker comprising a main receptacle to receive the brokenglass, a cover for said main receptacle, a supplemental receiver carriedby said cover, and means to break said bottle when placed in saidsupplemental receiver, the supplemental receiver discharging into themain receiver when the bottle is broken, said last-mentioned meanscomprising lever means having one inside arm hanging downwardly withinthe receiver with a lower end portion formed to break the bottle andhaving another outside arm hanging downwardly outside of the container,with the lower end portion formed to enable actuation thereof, said armsbeing pivotally connected and pivotally mounted at the upper end of themain receiver, said inside arm being moved upwardly toward thesupplemental re- ,ceiver upon actuation ofsaid outside arm.

CHARLES F. PETERS.

